


like a handprint on my heart

by Florchis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous Relationships, Bittersweet, F/F, Femslash February, Holding Hands, Long Live Feedback Comment Project
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2019-11-07 08:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17956871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florchis/pseuds/Florchis
Summary: An InoSaku Drabbles Collection.





	1. Autumn sun

**Author's Note:**

> This does not have much plot at all, I just had a feeling I wanted to convey and used the opportunity to finish off Femslash February with these two.
> 
> {This might become a SakuIno Drabbles Collection later if the need arises}

“When are you leaving, exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is there something you do know?” The statement should feel sharp on her teeth, bitter on her tongue, but Ino doesn’t find in her stomach the strength necessary to feel angry.

Sakura’s voice is like the wind in her ears, “That I will be back.”

She is not the kind of person that can live off promises, but they are basking under the autumn sun, soft breeze on their eyelashes and their time together is obviously limited. Ino decides to put down the fight before even starting it, “Okay.”

She closes her eyes to the rhythm of Sakura’s voice, “Will you, um, will you be okay?”

There are a lot of things she could say, and they all would be partially but not completely true.  _ I can manage myself just fine. My world doesn’t revolve around you. I also have training and growing of my own to do. _

Instead, she says, “It is what it is. I will power through.”

Sakura sits up, and Ino feels like sighing because that means that she wants to have A Serious Conversation. She sits up too, reluctantly, and Sakura holds her hand in between hers. Her hands are soft for a shinobi with a knack for lab experimentation, and Ino feels a rush of sadness at the revelation. Her hands probably won’t be soft for much longer, and what would that make of them, with rough hands and rougher hearts? 

“Ino. You know that I am not leaving because of you, right?”

Ino blinks and blinks until she can process the question. She does not know, not really, but she huffs anyway.

“Contrary to what you may believe, forehead, I am not that self-absorbed to think that your world revolves around me.”

Sakura smiles, a blush pinkening her cheeks. She is so pretty when she smiles, has she ever told her that? She can not remember.

Should she tell her?

“But it does.”

It feels like drowning, the confession.

Or better yet: like leaping through an open window to find no ground under your feet, your veins chakraless.

It feels like trust and a huge responsibility at the same time as a weight lifted from her shoulders. 

It feels like the autumn sun, or that might be the actual autumn sun on her skin, who can know.

She places her free hand on top of Sakura’s, that is holding her other one. They are but a pile of hands: Sakura’s, hers, Sakura’s, hers. It is fitting for them, Ino thinks. 

“Okay.”

Sakura tilts her head, and there is a glint of uncertainty in her eyes, but Ino holds her gaze- and does not try to get inside her head, not even one bit- until it disappears. This is not the moment for promises. There is never a moment for promises in this cursed shinobi life.

Knowing can be and is enough.

Sakura’s lips quirk up in a small smile, and Ino does not think about how they would feel like against her own. Sakura is leaving, and she prefers wondering to knowing and losing. 

“Okay.” 


	2. “Don’t die on me– Please.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura gets hit in the battlefield and Ino struggles to save her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From an anon prompt in Tumbl. I am doing a [ Drabble Challenge during July](https://florchis.tumblr.com/post/186074343831/naruto-drabbles-masterpost), you can send me prompts here or [ on tumblr](https://florchis.tumblr.com/ask).

Of the many rules that exist in the Shinobi world, there is probably only one about missions performed by teams that no one would dare refute:  _no matter the cost, protect your medic._  
  
Of course, that is the first thing that would go wrong on a mission that includes Sakura.   
  
Ino’s vision goes blank the moment she sees Sakura hitting the ground, struck by lightning. She can not process the series of events that took them there, whose fault it was that Sakura was unprotected while taking care of someone else, who she has to kill to right this wrong. It’s like time has stopped for her the exact same second Sakura’s heart did.  
  
“Ino!” Someone pushes her to the side, and by the size of the hands it must be Chōji, but Ino can not process voices with the white buzzing that has infested her ears. “Take care of Sakura!”  
  
And then, time changes from moving too slowly to moving too fast, a whirlwind of shouts and jutsus flying over her head while she crawls to Sakura’s side. How long has it been since she was struck? Half a minute? Maybe more? Time is her highest concern now.  
  
She yanks open Sakura’s vest, places her hands on top of her chest and starts to push. She forces herself to not look at Sakura’s face- just focus on the heel of her hands and the movement of her elbows up and down. She knows that if she sees Sakura’s eyes- normally so full of life and passion- glassy and still, she will lose it.  
  
 _You are a kunoichi, Yamanaka. Get it the fuck together. Love has no place on the battlefield.  
  
_ “Ino!” This time the voice is Shikamaru’s, and in between push number fifteen and number sixteen, Ino spares a thought of gratitude to the fact that she has completely lost track of the battle and yet she stands unharmed. Now that the panic has left place to focus, she can feel, as usual, Shikamaru’s and Chōji’s chakras as an extension of her own; they are at her sides, deflecting any attack send her way, and Ino knows she won’t live long enough to pay them back this debt. “You are fucking trained in healing with chakra, moron!”  
  
 _Chakra._  Right.  _Shite._  
  
There are reasons you protect your medic at all cost in the field. And the fact that they are probably the more level-headed member of the team is not the least important one.  
  
She closes her eyes and lets chakra flow to the tip of her fingers and beyond, navigating inside Sakura’s bloodstream in search of her heart, giving it direct push after push. She is starting to sweat from the effort, but she thinks she can feel the tiniest of beats, and she holds onto that belief.  
  
“If you die only to prove how terrible of a healer I am, Sakura, I swear I will kill you!” She hisses against clenched teeth. “But better yet: don’t die on me.  _Please.”_  
  
It is like her plea was the last missing piece to solve the puzzle: Sakura takes a gulping gasp of breath so violent that almost bends her body in half, sputtering and ashen-faced, but she is  _alive_ , and Ino feels like e is taking her first true breath as well.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of LLF Comment Project, whose goal is to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Prompts (here or on Tumblr)
>   * Image reactions
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> This author replies to comments (but it might take a while). If you'd rather not get a reply, please add *whispers* to your comment.



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